Influences of pregnancy on neural and behavioral function in female rats.
Item
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Title
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Influences of pregnancy on neural and behavioral function in female rats.
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Identifier
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AAI3232010
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identifier
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3232010
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Creator
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Macbeth, Abbe H.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Victoria N. Luine
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Date
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2006
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Psychology, Psychobiology | Psychology, Physiological
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Abstract
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Females' memory capabilities are enhanced during pregnancy (Galea et al., 2000). One factor believed to underlie memory enhancement is an increase in dendritic spines and synapses in CA1 hippocampus (Kinsley et al., 2005). The present study examined effects of reproductive experience on spatial (object placement) and non-spatial (object recognition) memory task performance, as well as neurochemical systems that may underlie memory performance. In the first experiment, pregnant and nulliparous females were tested on the object placement task; early and late pregnant females both out-performed nulliparous females. Monoamine and metabolite levels were measured in the pre-frontal cortex, CA1 and CA3 hippocampus, and medial pre-optic area, areas important for memory and maternal behavior. Significant alterations were observed in the dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine systems in each region; these changes may contribute to the observed spatial memory differences between pregnant and nonpregnant females.;In the second experiment, multiparous females (12 months old; 5 litters each) and age-matched nulliparous controls were tested using object recognition and placement tasks. On both tasks, multiparous females significantly out-performed nulliparous females. Monoamines and metabolites in PFC, CA1, CA3, and olfactory bulb were measured; significant elevations in the dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin systems were observed only in the olfactory bulb of multiparous females. Additionally, levels of BDNF protein were found to be significantly higher in the CA1 and septum of multiparous than nulliparous females. CA1 hippocampus and septum are implicated in spatial memory performance, so higher BDNF protein may have contributed to enhanced memory performance in multiparous females. In both studies, anxiety as measured on the elevated plus maze, and activity as measured on the open field, did not differ due to reproductive state. In conclusion, studies showed enhanced performance on spatial tasks during pregnancy, and after multiple pregnancies, as compared to age-matched nulliparous females. In young, pregnant females performance may be due to alterations in monoamine and metabolite levels throughout the brain. In older multiparous females, monoamines were not altered in brain areas important for cognition, but enhanced performance may be due to increased expression of BDNF.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
